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3.3 Involving people: Building partnerships for IP

The range of national and local information needed to support the introduction of IPs is very great. To ensure you area able to take full advantage of this, avoiding duplication and promoting integrated working, it is important to identify local partners and bring them on board in a coordinated way.

Tapping into a range of different sources and levels of expertise, in partnership, allows you to bring together all local sources of information and support in one place, making them more readily accessible to everyone. 

Local organisations with whom you are likely to establish partnerships, if you are not already working together, include:

  • Local authorities, GPs, community teams, PCTs and hospitals
  • Local voluntary organisations and support groups
  • Citizens Advice Bureaux
  • Council for Voluntary Service
  • Local benefits offices
  • Libraries and community centres.

Look for ways to engage local organisations in introducing IPs in all the health and social care setting across your locality.  Local voluntary organisations, for instance, could be involved in prescribing and dispensing IPs, acting as support and advice centres and providing telephone help-lines. Take advantage, too, of existing cross-sector partnerships, such as local strategic partnerships which have a huge amount of influence over the local development of health and social care services. User forums, such as LINks (local involvement networks) can add value to the work of your partnership, and build local awareness and ownership.

The Isle of Wight pilot has been working in close partnership with other local organisations, bringing their local information sources together on the Isle of Wight local authority's website through a new, fully accessible database. Links to national sources of information are made through NHS Direct, NHS Choices and DirectGov.

You will find it helpful to have a single coordinator and point of contact, supported by a group of professionals who will 'champion' the work in their local organisation.

Be aware that voluntary and statutory agencies can have very different organisational cultures and different approaches. This can get in the way of smooth working and can lead to frustration for people on either 'side'. Again, having champions in the partner organisations can be extremely helpful.

'We had a very active steering group, made up of all the key stakeholders from the local authority, NHS and elsewhere. This provided the framework in which we could establish an integrated IP service, whereby users can benefit form the combined expertise of all agencies.'

 

On the next page: Developing a sense of ownership amongst your stakeholders